Noggin (TV channel)
(From Wikipedia) Noggin is an entertainment brand, launched on February 2, 1999 as a joint venture between Viacom and Sesame Workshop. The Jim Henson Company also held a stake in the company when it was founded. Noggin was initially advertised as both a linear television network and a website. The brand has since expanded to include three mobile subscription services, a second website, and four defunct programming blocks worldwide. It was initially aimed at a pre-teen audience and shifted its target demographic to preschool-aged children in April 2002. The first service released under the Noggin brand name was a satellite television network, which operated from February 2, 1999 until September 28, 2009. Noggin's lineup during its first years consisted almost entirely of titles from Sesame Workshop's library, with occasional reruns of Nickelodeon and Jim Henson series. Most of the content was aimed at teenagers and Generation Xers. The two providers had over 5,000 hours of library material to broadcast and did not produce original programming until a full year on the air had passed. The network shared its channel space with The N from 2002 until 2007, when Noggin became a 24-hour network. Noggin commissioned its first half-hour original series for teenagers in April 2000, titling it A Walk In Your Shoes. A live game show aimed at pre-teens, Sponk!, premiered a year afterwards. This was one of many Noggin series that focused primarily on viewer-submitted content, along with the animated Phred on Your Head Show and its spin-off The URL with Phred Show. A block of preschool-oriented series had become a staple of the network by 2002. Development On April 28, 1998, Viacom and Sesame Workshop put together an initial investment of $100 million to start the first strictly educational television channel for children. Both organizations wished to combine television and online services to create a "kids' thinking channel," which was named Noggin (derived from a slang term for "head") to reflect its purpose as an educational medium. Noggin's primary goal was to provide informative entertainment for children aged 6–12. Sesame Workshop initially planned for it to be an advertiser-supported service, but later decided that it should debut as a commercial-free network. To develop ideas for new programming, Noggin partnered with schools across the United States to research what would best educate children in grade school. In 1999, it provided each school involved up to $7,100 to run focus groups with students and teachers. The students' opinions and reactions to different activities were recorded and used to improve the content shown on Noggin. This generated controversy among the Commercial Alert organization, who considered Noggin's research a violation of education laws and called it "an unfortunate turning-point" for Sesame Workshop. Despite this, the program continued without disruption until June of that year. Early history The Noggin channel launched on February 2, 1999 to over 1.5 million subscribers. It was marketed as both a satellite television station and a digital network. Sweepstakes were a major part of Noggin's early advertising. In April 1999, it sponsored a contest in which viewers who submitted the correct lyrics of the Electric Company theme song had a chance to have their electric bills paid for a year. In 2000, Nickelodeon and Sesame Workshop distributed packages of school supplies (called "Noggin's Master of Suspense Kits") to 50,000 U.S. teachers as part of a sweepstakes designed to "celebrate creative, thoughtful educational instruction." Noggin was initially perceived as a threat to PBS, because its programming consisted largely of Sesame Workshop series that had formerly aired on public television. Robert Ottenhoff, a former chief operating officer for PBS, addressed this in 1999; he stated that his company "can no longer differentiate ourselves by the uniqueness of the program genres we offer." Noggin made an effort to create more interactive programming in 2001, utilizing its website as a way to include viewer participation in many of its shows. It released a tween-oriented game show titled Sponk! in September, which included participation from children online and allowed Noggin.com visitors to chat with the hosts. The URL with Phred Show, which focused on content submitted to Noggin.com from viewers, launched in the same month. Network rebrand (2002) In 2001, the Jim Henson Company sold its stake in Noggin to Sesame Workshop along with the rights to Sesame Street's characters. This left Oobi, which began production in 2000, as the only preschool series created while the company and Sesame Workshop both controlled Noggin's programming. In March 2002, Noggin manager Tom Ascheim announced plans to shift Noggin's demographic to preschoolers and create a new block for older children. On April 1, 2002, the channel space was divided into two blocks: Noggin, an extension of the channel's preschool block, and The N, targeted at pre-teens.